


You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

by littlervoice



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-18 20:49:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3583533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlervoice/pseuds/littlervoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall thinks he has to walk home from work in the rain until a kind stranger offers to share his umbrella.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by the prompt _“i forgot my umbrella and you offered to walk me home in the rain and i thought this would be the beginning of a cute love story but you’re really shit at this oh my god my shoulder is so wet, hold the damn thing properly wth man” au_

Niall glances out the window to find that it’s raining. It’s raining and he has a thirty minute walk back home to his flat. Brilliant.

It was bright sunshine this morning so like an idiot Niall had left his umbrella at home thinking he wouldn’t need it. “Gotta love the Great British weather,” he grumbles to himself as he leaves the shop.

He stands under the awning to assess the severity of the weather, peeking his head out to look up at the huge black clouds which don’t seem to end. After heaving out a sigh, he zips his hoody as far up as it will go and is about to pull his hood up when somebody behind him speaks.

“Want me to walk you home?”

Niall turns around to find that the voice belongs to a man who is standing just outside the awning with an umbrella. A rather good-looking man who Niall is certain he’s never seen before in his life. He takes a quick look behind him to see if this guy could be talking to anybody else, but Niall’s the only one around.

“Um, excuse me?” He’s still not sure if the man is addressing him or not. He doesn’t want to assume and then make a fool out of himself.

“You’re not really dressed for the weather, and I have this umbrella. I’m sure there’s room for two,” the man offers sincerely.

Niall looks around, thinks there must be some sort of a catch. Handsome strangers don’t just come and offer to walk you home in the rain, that stuff only happens in books and films and people’s imaginations.

Maybe the guy’s a serial killer. Although he doesn’t really look like one. He looks far too innocent to be _any_ kind of criminal, with his wide eyes and trustworthy smile. But then again, maybe his charming manner is all just an act. _What if I’m his next victim?_ Niall wonders.

“I’m not some kind of murderer, I promise,” the man says and Niall panics that he’d accidentally voiced his thoughts out loud.

“You don’t even know where I live. What if it’s the complete opposite side of town to you?”

“I don’t mind,” the guy shrugs.

“I mean, I’m not really in the habit of having strangers walk me home,” Niall says. He’s in two minds about whether he should trust this guy or not. No one is this kind to a random stranger.

The man holds out his hand with a smile. “My names Harry. Harry Styles.”

Niall shakes Harry’s hand. “Niall.”

“Well, Niall, looks like we’re not strangers anymore.”

Niall decides to just throw caution to the wind and go for it. Better than getting completely soaked through or having to hang around work until it calms down – which doesn’t look to be any time soon.

He joins Harry under the umbrella, moving in close so that their arms are pressed together.

“It usually takes half an hour,” he warns.

“I don’t mind,” Harry responds with an easy smile, “lead the way.”

For a few minutes Niall continues on autopilot as Harry chatters on beside him about how he’d also just finished work and “ _How typical is this weather?”_  but Niall is lost in his thoughts. He wonders if this is something Harry does a lot, or if he’s the only one. But then he’s brought back to the present when he feels a dampness seeping through the shoulder of his hoody.

“Oi, if you’re gonna offer to walk me home and keep me dry at least do a proper job of it.”

Harry’s brow furrows. “What?”

“You’ve had the bloody thing tilted the whole way, my shoulder’s absolutely soaking.” He turns to the side to show Harry the now dark grey patch on his hoody.

“Oh, sorry,” Harry grins sheepishly. “Hey, maybe we should switch sides so I can soak your other shoulder, too. Least then it’ll be matching.”

Niall gives him an unimpressed glare.

“Look, it’s windy, okay? I’m trying to keep it under control, it’s not easy!”

“It’s a gentle breeze at best, you’re hardly battling gale force winds, Harry.”

At Niall’s continued glare Harry says, “Fine, you hold it, then. See if you can do a better job.”

Niall takes the umbrella from Harry and he’s able to hold it and continue the conversation with ease. He doesn’t know what Harry’s problem was. Until after a while his arm starts to ache. Harry’s slightly taller than Niall – only by an inch or two – but still, the difference in height means Niall has to awkwardly hold his arm up higher than he normally would if he were under the umbrella by himself.

“Hey, ouch,” Harry whines, bringing a hand up to his head.

Niall’s arm had drooped and he’d managed to tangle the umbrella in Harry’s hair somehow. _What an idiot._

“Shit, sorry,” Niall says as they come to a stop in the middle of the path.

“It’s fine,” Harry insists as he fiddles with his hair, trying to free himself. “Not so easy, is it?”

“Sorry. It’s just you’re a little bit taller than me and –”

Harry stops trying to untangle himself and turns to face Niall – well, as best as he can while he has an umbrella attached to his head. “Niall, it’s fine, honestly. I’m just messing with you. Although, I don’t fancy having this thing stuck in my hair forever. Help?”

Niall hands the umbrella back to Harry so he can get a closer look at the damage he’d done and try to fix it. As he untangles the mess he can’t help but feel like there’s something a bit intimate about the whole situation, having his hands in Harry’s hair so soon after they’d met. Or maybe it was just weird? _Probably weird,_ he concludes.

Niall gives Harry’s hair a final gentle tug. “There you go, you’re a free man,” he says as he joins Harry back under the umbrella. Harry gives him a grateful smile.

They set off walking again and Niall presses in as tightly as possible in order to keep as much of himself dry as possible. And it works. His shoulder isn’t getting wet this time. However now that they’re so close, Harry keeps elbowing Niall in the ribs instead.

“God, why is this so difficult? I thought sharing an umbrella was supposed to be romantic,” Niall says as he puts a bit of distance between himself and Harry. He doesn’t want to return home with a giant bruise on his ribs.

“Romantic, huh?” Harry turns to look over at Niall and grins slyly.

Niall’s cheeks turn pink. “You know, like in movies and stuff. Not with us,” he mumbles and then pretends to be super interested in the shop window they are passing. Thankfully Harry seems to sense his embarrassment and lets it slide.

The rest of the journey passes without incident, although Niall thinks Harry has forgotten he even has an umbrella in his hand because he keeps gesturing wildly, meaning Niall intermittently gets showered with rain. Once or twice he’d reached out to still Harry’s hand with his own, but in the end he gave up and just enjoyed Harry’s silly stories.

They end up outside Niall’s building far too soon for his liking. He wants to continue listening to Harry’s stories and get to know him better, even if it means having to walk around half-drenched with rain. But Niall can’t think of a decent excuse right now.

“I feel like I should repay you.” Niall hopes Harry understands it’s a hint. “Even if I did end up with my entire right-hand side soaking wet,” he teases.

“How about you give me your number and I’ll call it even?” Harry suggests, the knowing tone to his voice clearly showing he’d caught on.

“Deal,” Niall grins. “But just so you know, I’m never sharing an umbrella with you again!”

**Author's Note:**

> bleh i don't know what this is sorry


End file.
